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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Police Officer Who Killed Fleeing Suspect Fired; Family Of S.C. Police Shooting Victim Speaks Out; Man Who Shot Video: "Mr. Scott Didn't Deserve This"; Man Who Shot Video Of Deadly Police Shooting Speaks; Police Chief: "I Was Sickened By What I Saw" In Video; Boston Bomber Convicted; Bomber Guilty On All 30 Counts, May Face Death; Life Or Death For Boston Bomber; Tornado Strikes Near Wichita, Kansas. Aired 9-10p.
Aired April 08, 2015 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:27] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Welcome back. As we said former Officer Michael Slager set to the jail cell tonight charged with murder, awaiting his next hearing. There's a few protesters who's come now show up about the side of city hall, just as the video that shows the officer killing Walter Scott is being examined frame by frame, so to is Slager's life and his work history. Miguel Marquez has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good evening Mr. Slager how are you sir?
MICHAEL SLAGER, CONVICTED OF MURDER: Good evening. I'm OK.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former police officer Michael Slager, now wearing jail stripes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the case of the state closes Mr. Michael Slager, the defended is the charged with a general sessions a court offence, of murder.
MARQUEZ: The 33 year old terminated by the North Charleston police department accuse of murder, read his rights, no bond set the judge at a few specific questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you married?
SLAGER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Children?
SLAGER: I have two step children and one on the way.
MARQUEZ: Slager, five years on the North Charleston police force has two complains on his record, one from September 2013 when Mario Givens and African-American man complain that Slager use the taser on him and excessive force after he refuse to exit his home at Slager's order, Slager was exonerated. And in January of this year Janelle Van Hanigen (ph), an African- American female complain about Slager's conduct after he refused to follow report when she called police because her kids were being harassed. Slager argued he didn't file it because there was a history of problems between Hanigen and her neighbor. And investigator disagreed saying, Slager failed to provide the police report.
Today the North Charleston Mayor openly ask anyone with concerns about Slager to contact police.
MAYOR KEITH SUMMEY, NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: We will look at that any questions anybody has, we're more than willing to look at it.
MARQUEZ: Beyond the two complaints, Slager's record raises few questions. He passed taser training with perfect grades multiple times. From 2009 to 2014 he qualified in the use of his GLOCK firearm, his overall performance record 2010 through 2014, satisfactory. Multiple times, Slager received and passed yearly training in bias based profiling, ethics, use of taser and firearms.
Slager who've served in the coast guard from 2003 to '09 has one other question raise on his record. After graduating from the police academy in February 2010 and in the first days of his on-the-job training twice as supervisor knows in his training report that he spoke with Slager in reference it, certain procedures in reference to conducting motor vehicles stops and citizen contacts.
A traffic stop and citizen contact, the exact scenario that ended with Walter Scott dead and this 33 year old police officer facing a murder charge. Miguel Marquez CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: As you heard from my interview, we share to you the top of the broadcast, Mr. Scott's mother, Judy say she forgives officer Slager. That she has forgiveness in her heart and that forgiveness, she says comes from God. Now their faith is clearly strong. Some of the eye witness was honored to be invited into their home this afternoon. They were singing a song. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: In the Lord I'm going to trust. In the Lord I'm going to trust. In the Lord Till I die. I'm going to trust in the Lord. I'm going to trust in the Lord. I'm going to trust n the Lord till I die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Standing strong in their faith in the face of grief. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. Just after 9:00 p.m. here in North Charleston South Carolina, what a day it has been. A very busy and emotional searing day here. The police officer who shot and killed the fleeing suspect, he has been fired. The eyewitness who made the video, the video which caught also Michael Slager firing shot after shot. Eight shots in all at Walter Scott. He has come forward. You're going to hear from him in the hour ahead.
Walter Scott's mother Judy has been speaking out. I talked to hear tonight. She is hurting badly, obviously, she's in the deepest grief that somehow is also found a strength and grace to say that she forgives the man who killed her son. Imagine that. A lot to get to he tonight.
Jason Carroll bring us up to the minute, beginning with the stormy news conference that took place just behind me, earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: North Charleston's mayor and police chief interrupted and vocal and angry protesters.
Demanding answers after seeing the video that shows Officer Michael Slager repeatedly shooting Walter Scott in the back. Slager is in jail tonight charge with murder. The man who shot the cellphone video coming forward Wednesday, he's Feidin Santana. He told NBC News, he was on his way to work when he saw struggle between Slager and Scott.
FEIDIN SANTANA, WITNESS WHO SHOT VIDEO: They were down in the floor before the -- I started recording and they were down in the floor. I remember the police had control the situation, he had control, you know, of the Scott and Scott was trying to get away from the taser, which taser, you know, we can hear the sound of the taser.
CARROLL: The video start as Slager and Scott appear to wrestle over an object, possibly that taser, the video shows an object falling to the ground just Scott turns and runs. Officer Slager then pulls his gun and fires eight shots.
[21:10:003] According to Scott's family four strike him in the back. At no point is Slager for yelling a warning or stop, he just shoots. The video then show Slager calling for back up.
SLAGER: 223 to dispatch, shots fired, subject is down. He grabbed my taser.
CARROLL: Then he is seen walking over to Scott and once Scott is on the ground Slager shouts a command.
Slager puts Scott in handcuffs then he turns to retrieve an item on ground and appears to drop it next to Scott's body.
Scott's family believes the video shows Slager's attempt to plant that taser next to Scott's body. Their focus now, justice and remembering Walter Scott.
ANTHONY SCOTT, WALTER SCOTT'S BROTHER: He was kind. He loved his children. He was a great father. He was a great father. He was a great friend and he was a great brother. And he was also a great son. CARROLL: The mayor expressing his gratitude to Santana for coming forward to help set the record straight.
SUMMEY: The video is very demonstrative of exactly what happened. Without the video and that was the only witness -- there was actually was the gentleman that was making the video. It would be difficult to ascertain exactly what did occur.
We want to thank the young person that came forward with the video.
COOPER: It took a lot courage, frankly, to shoot that video and to stay on the scene and move closer and continue shooting that video by that young man. You're going to hear more from him tonight at the interview he did with us (inaudible).
Joining me is Jason Carroll, though. Do we know more details about how the video actually ended up in the hands of the family? Because I haven't heard a lot of those details.
CARROLL: It's actually an incredible story. Scott's brother tells me that last Sunday, they all went up there back to the scene where it all happened to pay a special tribute for Scott. And at that point, this young man walks up to them. They didn't know who he was, he walked up and said, "There is something that I must show you." And I know that you heard Scott's mother talk about faith and her faith. The family believes it was fate and their faith that actually brought them altogether.
COOPER: It's incredible. And I again I just think, you know, it's on thing to suddenly witness a scene like and to video tape it, but eventually continue doing it after you've scene an officer killing somebody down, shooting them in the back and possibly planting evidence and to continue to video tape that.
CARROLL: And, you know, when we were out there to look at the scene where it all happened. I mean he was pretty close.
COOPER: Right.
CARROLL: Twenty yards away maybe. I mean, very, very close and to have a courage to keep rolling.
COOPER: Right.
CARROLL: You know, when all that was happened. It's incredible.
COOPER: Jason, I appreciate the reporting. Late today, Walter Scott's mom Judy, told me -- I mean we had a remark conversation and I stress, she's just an incredible woman, she told me that she considers that witness to be have been heaven sent. (inaudible) to that.
More from her, well, as the local pastor a bit later in the hour. But first, our conversation with Walter Scott's brother, Anthony, who is so brief in Jason Carroll's report. Also Scott's family attorney, Chris Stewart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You and your wife are the first people in the family to see this video. When you first saw it, what did you think?
A. SCOTT: I was thinking that this can't be true. That this can't be the way that really happened. But from knowing my brother's character, I know that he would not fought for a taser and try to shoot -- use a taser on the officer. I'm sure that it had have been a different story to it.
COOPER: So -- because you actually went down. When you heard what had happened to your brother...
A. SCOTT: Yes.
COOPER: ... you went down into the scene?
A. SCOTT: I did.
COOPER: And what were you told had happened? Did the police say anything?
A. SCOTT: The only thing that I was told was that he was shot once. That's all I was told.
COOPER: By the police you were told.
A. SCOTT: By the police, that's right. By the officer.
COOPER: And when you heard them -- this report that there had been a struggle over a taser and the officer fear for his life, did you believe that?
A. SCOTT: I didn't believe it from the start. I didn't believe it when the officer told me that there was a struggle for the taser. I believe that he may have gotten the tased, but I didn't believe that he would fought for the taser and try to use the taser on the officer. I never did believe that.
COOPER: I'm curious. When you saw in the video, you also bend down, pick something up. After shooting you brother, you saw the officer walk back, bend down, pick something up, walk back to the body, place something on the ground.
A. SCOTT: Yes.
COOPER: What do you immediately think?
A. SCOTT: That's the taser gun. That's the taser gun. There was no struggle. As he allegedly said, right then. And it just proved what I already knew. What I already felt.
COOPER: What did you say to the person who brought you the video?
A. SCOTT: I said thank you.
COOPER: Did the person wait to show you the tape in order to see what the police were going to say first?
[21:15:02] A. SCOTT: Yes sir.
COOPER: Because the person who took the video, they want to see what the police were going to say about the shooting?
A. SCOTT: What they were going to report.
COOPER: To see if it was the real deal.
A. SCOTT: I thought it was going to do the real deal, that they were going to come clean.
COOPER: Because I keep thinking about -- I mean, one of the many things is just the courage of that person taking that video. I mean...
A. SCOTT: Yes. Yes.
COOPER: People could say, I would have done the same thing, but you see an officer shoot somebody in the back multiple times.
A. SCOTT: Yes.
COOPER: You not only take the video to capture it. You then approach those officers.
A. SCOTT: Yes.
COOPER: And continue to tape. That's...
A. SCOTT: And continue taping.
COOPER: That's courage.
A. SCOTT: That's courage.
CHRIS STEWART, CO-COUNSEK FOR THE SCOTT FAMILY: And screaming out brutality.
A. SCOTT: That's courage. Courage.
COOPER: Do you believe that justice will be done here? I mean, there is this tape. Authorities will come out very quickly, you know, they've name the officer, they have arrested the officer. They charged the officer.
STEWART: You know, it's a long road. We all set around in the (inaudible), watching the press conference when they announce that they were going to charge him with murder. And they started crying and hugging. I got quiet because I know that that's just step one. It's just step one. It doesn't mean he is going to jail for life. It doesn't mean he's been found guilty. That's just step one.
COOPER: What do you want people to know about your brother? A. SCOTT: My brother was a loving father of four. Everybody loved him in the community. Everybody loved him the community. If you would just look at all the people that's coming up to show love for him, from all different ages, the most favorite uncle, the most favorite brother, he is my best friend. He is my younger brother best friend. I mean he is just incredible. He is incredible. And we're going to miss him.
COPPER: Thank very much for talking to me. I'm so sorry for your loss.
A. SCOTT: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And you're going to hear more from their mom later on at the broadcast because she is really just incredibly expiring only have that the strength to speak, the strength to forgive the man who killed her son so soon after the killing.
When we come back, police body cameras, they're going to be coming here soon. 250 of them were told. They are already and used around the country. We're looking what kind of impact they are having. You'll see what they see and what they show about how dangerous any police encounter, lawful or not, proper or not, can be for all involved. Details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. We are live in North Charleston, South Carolina. As we mentioned moment ago, police body cams are coming to this city. Technology that were presumably make the force more accountable when it comes to the next deadly force incident. There is technology out there as well, to train officers, try to make the right decision, those split seconds decision, a life or death decision, especially when they only have a sometimes less than a second to make the right choice. More on that now from Kyung Lah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get to calm down right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. You need to calm down. I'm doing my business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to find out...
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A man being questioned suddenly turns, slamming a police officer with the snow shovel. The suspect is shot and killed by police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going to have you put your hand back on your head.
LAH: This suspect, at first calm with police officers. Rushes for knife in his car and tries to stab the officers, shoot and killed him. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see the knife.
LAH: Then, there's this encounter. And officer responding to a domestic violence call in a seemingly routine chat for several minutes with this man tries to pass him down for a weapon.
You can see the gun five shots strike 24-year old Officer Tyler Stewart of the Flagstaff, Arizona Police Department killing him. Officer Stewart never had a chance to draw his weapon. Moments later, the suspect used that weapon to kill himself.
Body cameras part of a growing arsenal of technology in policing, giving us an intimate view of a cop's life.
From the challenges to the life and death choices. This officer devastated in front of a dash cam as he discovered a suspect he thought was armed was not. The suspect died after the officer shot him. A police shooting determined to be justified. As hard as it is to watch, technology is revolutionizing modern policing.
CHIEF PATRICK MOERS, HENDERSON POLICE DEPARTMENT: In the past, those officers never had that ability to see that. So now, we're learning from the mistakes. We're really just finding out the officers just done the right thing.
LAH: Not just after the shooting but before.
SETH COLEMAN, HENDERSON POLICE DEPARTMENT: (inaudible) multiple more shots fired, ones subject down in the arcade, right at the entrance.
LAH: This is Henderson Nevada Police Officer Seth Coleman, an 11-year old veteran. He's never had to shoot a suspect but he must train to do it and know when not to.
This is 300-degree stimulation created by VirTra currently use by 200 U.S. law enforcement agencies.
COLEMAN: What's he look like?
LAH: A gunman is in a movie theater.
COLEMAN: Where'd he go? Which direction?
LAH: The gunman hits Officer Coleman twice and he makes one terrible mistake, shooting an off-duty cop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, as we have the time to look at it, you see that he is got to the badge in his hand.
LAH: Looks like you're so sweating really little bit.
COLEMAN: Yeah. It's an adrenaline damp, its adrenaline rush. Makes you cold, makes you clammy, makes my mouth dry. This is where I want to learn from my failures. Instead of being out on the streets and failing there, this gives me an edge to fail here, to succeed on the streets. LAH: How realistic does this feel for an officer?
SCOTT DILULLO, DIRECTOR OF FIREARMS & CONTENT, VIRTRA: Very realistic. Because now, he's trying to work through multiple problems.
LAH: Retired Scottsdale Arizona Police Officer Scott Dilullo says, the goal of VirTra is 300 degree system is to make this as real as possible.
The trainee where is an electrical impulse box. The gun is an unloaded but real weapon. Screens behind the officer imitate what it's really like on streets.
DILULLO: I can escalate dialogue branches, deescalate it. I'm listening to what he is saying and I'm giving the responses.
COLEMAN: Drop the gun now.
LAH: Even for a veteran, this is humbling.
COLEMAN: It hurts. Hurts my heart, hurt my feelings. You know, I did something like that in a scenario but I learn from it.
LAH: So, tomorrow, thanks to today's technology, here is a better and safer officer. Kyung Lah, CNN Las Vegas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:25:06] COOPER: I want to talk about training good police officers as well as a (inaudible) murderous at North Charleston police officer from New York Police Department Detective Harry Houck with me and also CNN Legal Analyst Mark O'Mara and Sunny Hostin, he's a criminal defense attorney and she is our former federal prosecutor.
Harry, I mean, isn't this another reason why officer should wear body cameras and supporters body cameras, to say, look, this will help with the counter ability for officers. It'll also help with training, learning from mistakes and also maybe even teach -- show the public in some cases how difficult it is the decisions police officer have to make.
HARRY HOUCK, HOUCKCONSULTING.COM: Right, Anderson, that's exactly what I was thinking. I'm 100 percent for police officers wearing his body cams.
It will show that officers act correctly out there on the street and it will show if some officers don't act correctly on the street. And another big thing that you brought up, you know, you're watching those video showing that the danger that police officers put themselves in everyday, you know, here a police officers confronted somebody and they were shot.
This is what a police officer worries about every time he confronts somebody who does not want to listen to his commands. COOPER: Mark, if you were defending the officer involved in the killing of Mr. Scott or any officer accused of the wrongdoing. Is there any possible downside to having body camera footage aside from the fact that might contradict what the officer says happen or what other officer say happen?
MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S FORMER ATTORNEY: No. There really is and, you know, thing about body cams on cops, we know that those departments that have them, there are less use of force incidences. Their arrest complains about cops and then, also increases the number of defendants who flee.
So what you're doing is you're taking out a certain percentage of those people from the system giving the system more resources to deal with the ones they have to. Body cameras should be here. We shouldn't wait until another tragedy before we decide they're going to show up in Ferguson or North Charleston or anywhere else.
We have a technology. I know it's expensive but it's much cheaper than lives.
COOPER: Sunny, I keep coming back to the fact that -- I mean if it wasn't for this video tape of this young man took of the shooting of Walter Scott, we wouldn't be here. There wouldn't have been that press conference today. No one really would have known what happened because the only account would have been that account by the police officers.
This tape made all the difference and you know, I talked to the family today and a lot of them were saying, "Well look, how many other incidences out there would we know more about if there hadn't been a tape."
SUNNY HOSTIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: And I think that is the concern, right? Because there's not question about it, Anderson. We wouldn't be discussing this tape but for the video, we know that initially when this happens on April 4th, the Officer certainly said that he was -- that he shot in self-defense, that he fear for his life.
He retained an attorney who repeated that same narrative. The police chief and others believed that narrative and it wasn't until the video tape came out that he was charged. And then his own attorney that he had retained, refused himself and withdrew.
So I think there's no question that body cameras need to be on every single officer in our country not just for, you know, potential victims but certainly for officers as well. I mean, there's no question as Mark said when you look at the stats that it saves lives, it saves money for trials, and there's just no downside to that kind of situation.
One of things that I do worry about though, there are officers that turned off their body cameras and there have been cases about that.
COOPER: Yeah. HOSTIN: And I wonder is there is some technology to prevent that from happening.
COOPER: Mark, the flip side of that is why should it take the existence of -- Mark, why should it take the existence of a video taken by somebody else, shouldn't there had been independent investigation of an officer involved the shooting? I mean, someone who lost their life in that.
O'MARA: Well, yes. And Anderson, we've talked about that before. I think that special prosecutor's sled (ph) maybe in this case should take all officer involved shootings. Let's not forget too that there was an investigation ongoing that was sort of preempted by the video. I have a feeling that the officer who was on the ground when the officer dropped that, what we believed to the Taser may well said to him something like, "I'm not covering you on this." Which is why he picks it back up.
So there are may be more coming out in the investigation that he may not have been able to get away with this crime once he was truly investigated. Let's not forget there were four shots in Mr. Scott's back. That was going to be hard to describe and get away with without a video.
COOPER: Yeah. We have to take a break. Harry Houck, Mark O'Mara, Sunny Hostin, thank you.
Just ahead, I'm going to talk to a local pastor and an activist about how the video of Walter Scott's killing has the potential to be a game changer in this community and beyond. Also his concerns that about what happens next in this community in North Charleston.
[21:30:03] We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Earlier today, I talked to Walter Scott's mother Judy, and I got to say, I was just amazed by her strength. And by the strength of her faith and the midst of her grief, most, most of all her generosity of (inaudible), they invited me into their home, has spent time there.
She lost her son and she holds no hate for his killer. She holds, in fact forgiveness, she says in her heart. Here's some of what she told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY SCOTT, WALTER SCOTT'S MOTHER: I'm suppose to be really angry and upset and raging and all that. But I can't, because of the love of God in me. I can't be like that.
COOPER: You don't feel that in your heart?
J. SCOTT: No, I don't. I feel forgiveness in my heart, even for the guy that shot and killed my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Imagine that, so soon after her son being killed, she feels forgiveness in her heart. She told me, she trust in God, to in her words, "Fix it." Really an extraordinary woman. Joining me now is Pastor Thomas Dixon, co-founder of the Coalition People United, to Take Back Our Community and former chairman of the South Carolina Crime Reduction Coalition. Pastor, I appreciate you being with us. Thank you so much. I'm sorry...
PASTOR THOMAS DIXON, THE COALITION PEOPLE UNITED TO TAKE BACK OUR COMMUNITY: Thank you for having me. Yes, definitely/
COOPER: What happens next in this community and how concerned are you about what happens next?
DIXON: It's really a concern. We have to look at what's happen -- how we got to Walter Scott as being a systemic problem. This did just occur overnight.
COOPER: This isn't just one bad officer that was happen to be video tape, you're saying this is a systemic problem.
DIXON: It definitely is. And most in the intercity community, minority community, know that this is systemic problem, that's why we have a thoroughly disconnected relationship between law enforcement and the community because this problem does exist, the racial profiling, the officer of all (inaudible) like that.
[21:35:03] I mean, even me as a local leader and pastor, I experience the same troubles, I look over my shoulders the same way as (inaudible) on the block.
COOPER: Is that what you do, you look over your shoulder, when you...
DIXON: Yes, I do when I went a blue light poking behind me, I go to the same motions, I keep my hand clear, I make sure I don't make any sudden motions. Even before I go into my (inaudible) to get my license and registrations. I'm going to let them know, that's what I'm going to do.
COOPER: (inaudible), I mean I heard this from so many people I talked to and there seems to be such a different way of viewing things in white America and among African-Americans. I see this on Twitter now, all day long today, people saying, you know, a lot of people saying, "Look, it's outrageous what happen in this video." But this is a rare occurrence, this is, you know, something that just happen to be captured on video tape.
I talked to a lot of African-American in this community they say, "You know what? This just happen to be caught on tape, but this has happened plenty of times before." I mean, state new papers says, more than 200 officer exchange -- shootings of weapons in the last five years, not a single one -- a couple of indictment, a handful, but not a single officer convict of anything.
DIXON: You just put you finger on the pulse of the problem. Because there are too many people who have decided how other people are suppose to feel, those that set policy and procedures, instead of inviting those people in and respecting what they say about how they feel, and say, "We've made the policy and procedure." You shouldn't feel that way. You shouldn't feel that this is a racist action. You shouldn't feel discriminated upon. You shouldn't feel that the police are riding down on you.
What the reality is from the other side if it was respected by those policy makers, then they would understand, OK, this people, they have a problem, there is a problem existing.
COOPER: When I talk to the family, they said, look, we can say that race was involve in this, we don't know, we don't have that information. But when you see this, do you say that as well or do you say, given the history, it's involved in most case? How do you see it?
DIXON: I see it exactly as that. It is racial, it is racial, because these situations, we don't see this situations popping up as regularly. They do happen with other nationalities. If we dominate victims in officer involve shootings are African-American males, young or old. And so to think that it's not racial, then why are the numbers like that, it goes to the same -- to the same pictures incarceration. Why are the numbers like that? how can we be thorough in population that needs the number in prison and incarceration, you know, unless it's racial.
COOPER: When you hear from this family, when you hear the mother or Walter Scott and she has forgiveness in her heart. I mean, I know you're a person of faith.
DIXON: Yes.
COOPER: But that's an extraordinary statement to me.
DIXON: That's the reality of it. That's the only way that you can move forward. Other than that, she would stay stuck in the time (inaudible) at 9:30 Saturday morning, April 4th, 2015. And she'd never be able to transition to her life, her and her family.
COOPER: Pastor, I appreciate it.
DIXON: Thank you. Really appreciate you.
COOPER: Pastor Thomas Dixon. So just ahead after hearing weeks of the (inaudible) testimony, jurors convict the Boston Bomber on all 30 counts. Now, they'll decide if he lives or dies. What are some survivors of the bombing are saying tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We're from North Charleston on the deadly police shooting here coming up. But first tonight's other big stories, juries in the Boston marathon bombing trial founded defended guilty of all 30 counts and he could face the death penalty, that's the next face in this trial. Tonight some of the survivors are speaking out about the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN BRASSARD, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: I don't know what justice is. I'm grateful to have him off the street. I'm grateful to show everyone, the world that it's not tolerated, it's not something that you'll ever be over, you know, you'll feel it forever.
REBEKAN GREGORY, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: I don't believe that there will ever be justice for off to this no matter if he does get the death penalty or he remains in prison for the rest of his life. I do believe, however, that he should be held accountable for his actions and I'm very thankful for each of the jury members that are making him do that. And I maybe standing on one fake leg, but I'm standing here stronger than ever because someone try to destroy me and he failed. And they both failed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: She is stronger than ever. Alexandra Field is at the federal court house in Boston with more on the verdict today, Alexandra?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Anderson all eyes were on the defendant as he strode into the court listening to his fate. Those 30 counts read out, he heard the word guilty 30 times. You have to say that he looked disaffecting, disconnected, no signs of contrition, no signs of surprise. Certainly this was the verdict that his attorneys have prepared him for. He had defense attorney who stood up at the beginning of this trial and said it was him acknowledging his role in all of this.
The bomber did at one point, turn and gives something of a glancing look at the juries then he looked down from most of the proceedings, looking at his hand, glancing at his attorney. 11 of the 12 juries, Anderson, did not seem to lock eyes on him. They look straight ahead, they look at the judge, they look at the clerk. One juror did seemingly tried to connect to look at him in some way, but if he did see the defendant, the bomber in this case, he would have not seen outward show of emotion, Anderson.
COOPER: And survivors' family members were inside the court room was there a audible reaction or visible reaction from them?
FIELD: It's actually pretty amazing experience to sit inside that court room because of the silence. You could really just feel the gravity of the situation. For weeks we've heard this very wrenching testimony. There have been outward shows of emotions from the people who took the stand from the people who sat and watch.
Today you have family members of some of the victims in this case, you have the parents of eight year old Martin Richard who bled to death on (inaudible). You had the family members Sean Collier, the officer who shot to death in his squad car. They were there the listen. They've been waiting for this moment for nearly two years.
There was a really no audible reaction, just very serious faces. People really listening intently to every word that was said. You cannot go, so far as to say that they felt any measure of relief. You heard some the survivors earlier saying, Anderson, that they really don't feel a sense of closure or even necessarily justice. But certainly this is something that they have been waiting for, something that they have been wanting for, they got it today in that court room. It's a small bit of apiece of their recovery that each of them has tried to set about.
COOPER: Yeah. Alexandra, thanks for much the reporting.
[21:45:00] Coming up next, what jurors have already revealed about whether they'll impose the death sentence in the penalty phase.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Want to tell you a little bit more about the Boston bombing trial. Today, the penalty face is next, obviously, the same 12 jurors will decide whether the bomber will live or die for taking four lives. And we think it's important that you remember the names of the four who lost their lives. Not the name of the bomber or see his picture. We want you to see their pictures. Kyrstle Campbell, Martin Richard, Lingzi Liu, Sean Collier.
I don't want to say the bombers name anymore. He does not deserve it any recognition. He doesn't deserve to be remembered in the pages of history, these four do.
Jurors will be deciding on their behalf. And we do have at least the inkling of assign of how they might decide. Once again here's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: The life or death fate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev rest solely with 12 jurors. So what they think about the death penalty? Take the juror identified as number 138, a white man who works for the water department, he said during questioning, "Death can sometimes seems like an easy way out, it can go both ways I guess." And then there's juror number 395, an executive assistant for a law firm who says, "I always thought I was against it, but once you think about it, things change."
Meg Penrose is a constitutional law professor who was tried death penalty cases, she has also run in the Boston marathon.
[21:50:03] Penrose says, "Some crimes are so heinous, the evidence so compelling, it could change a juror's view on the death penalty."
MEG PENROSE, CONSTUTTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Some of these jurors seem to have a slightly different or more open view towards saying they might not be in favor of the death penalty under ordinary circumstances, but that they were open in this case to consider death as an adequate penalty.
CARROLL: It might be difficult for juror number 229, a homemaker. When asked about the death penalty she said, "If you had asked me this question 20 years ago, I would have said definitely not." But then she told the court, "Having children has changed her views." Juror number 83, an unemployed man in his 30s is more firm saying, "I think the death penalty is valid in terms of being a good punishment."
Of course, though, these opinions were given by the jury before the prosecution and defense laid out their cases during the trial before they heard all the evidence and listen to the emotional testimony from victims before seeing the graphic pictures while the devastation displayed in court.
ROBERT DUNHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTRE: Well, you instruct them that they are to base their judgment on the evidence that's in front of them, and exclusively on the evidence that's in front of them, and they take what they know with them, and they take their views about the penalty with them regardless of what the cause of those views are.
CARROLL: In the end, if the jurors decide on the death penalty it must be unanimous. They will have the evidence and their conscious as their guide.
Jason Carroll, CNN New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, more now on what it's like to make death penalty case to take it to jurors.
We're joined now by Larry Mackey who is the federal prosecutor who handled the trials of Oklahoma City bombers, Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Larry, thanks for being with us.
You point out that his defense attorney, Judy Clarke, she just has to convince one single juror to spare this guy's like. For you, juror 229 maybe that person, why?
LARRY MACKEY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, and that's exactly what the law is that she's got the -- the prosecution has to convince all 12. And she will get a life sentence for her defendant if just one juror stands his or her ground.
And she's going to school obviously on the information that was provided in the questionnaires as well as in the questioning session during the time they selected the jury looking for those kinds of factors in their backgrounds that might lead a juror to oppose the death penalty even in a case with acts like this.
COOPER: And in terms of Clarke's strategy for the penalty phase, you -- I know you say it could very well -- to speak directly to the juror with that particular juror that she believes may be wavering, that might sympathetic to saving the bombers life.
MACKEY: Yeah, indeed. I mean she knows having seen a verdict come back in a day and a half after month long of evidence that this group is unified in this view that this man is responsible in some way, in some measure for the death of those four individuals. Now, she's got to engage in an entirely different dialogue and that is what suggestion appropriate penalty?
And so the jury -- each jury has already taken the oath that they'll consider the aggravating factors. They'll consider the mitigating factors. They'll balance them carefully then they'll make that individual judgment as to whether death is the appropriate punishment in this case.
COOPER: The defense tried, they failed to have the trial move to another venue alleging that the jury pool would be tainted in the Boston area.
Might it be to an advantage for the defense that they lost that fight?
MACKEY: Well, indeed. Of all the states in the United States and we remember the coverage when the incident happen. Massachusetts does not have a death penalty. She is in a court room where there's a community and this juror speaks for that community that opposes the death penalty. So she's got one leg up by being in a state that has demonstrated historically its view against the death penalty.
But as your earlier piece indicated, there's nothing like facing the facts of pictures of young dead children or the injury calls are so many.
COOPER: Yeah. You got a jury to vote for death penalty, obviously, for the Oklahoma City bomber. And so you were pretty confident throughout that process. Do you have any kind of prediction for this penalty phase?
MACKEY: Well, I think the government did the right thing in the guilt phase and that is they took head one the motive. Why did this man join his brother to bomb this event and the cause of deaths of injuries that he did? And so they'll have less time devoted to debating whether there's any justification, of course there's not.
One of the problems that the defense has in this case is this particular defendant really stood behind his lawyer, in the guilt phase, who she could stand up and say, "This was a senseless act," or that, "We make no excuses." The jury wants to hear that from him. Before they give him any credit for being contrite, or sympathetic, or empathetic, or have a beating heart at all in a case like this. They want to hear it from him.
[21:55:06] COOPER: Right.
MACKEY: So the most interesting moment for me will be if and when this defendant gets on the stand in the penalty phase, he could be the only voice that could save his life.
COOPER: Wow. Fascinating. Larry, I appreciate your expertise. Larry Mackey, thank you so much.
We are just now getting some word of extremely dangerous weather spotters that are reporting a tornado just northwest of Wichita, Kansas. Chad Myers, he's been tracking it, joins us now.
Chad, what are you seeing?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What -- The most dangerous part of this, Anderson, is that it's night time. You can't see them, you can't hear them and you maybe going to sleep pretty soon, you want to make sure that NOAA weather radio was on all night. There will be storms on the horizon that pop up all night long. The night side -- The night time tornados are the most deadly, are the most dangerous.
There is the one for Wichita right there. It didn't miss the town of Wichita, don't get me wrong. This is Andale, this is way northwest of the city but it is still rotating and it's still maybe on the ground and now that it's night time you don't get the SpotterNetwork that you would like. There is the storm right there moving to the northeast. Another one just popped up. That's not that far from Andover. And then back out here toward the west, another storm. This storm here, although, it looks pretty small now, had three separate tornados on the ground earlier today.
So still a dangerous night and we'll keep watching it for you. Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Chad, thanks very much.
Up next, an extraordinary moment when I was invited into the home of Walter Scott's family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We're reporting tonight from North Charleston, South Carolina with the latest in the deadly police shooting that was caught on camera.
In my interview that we showed you a little bit earlier, the victim's mother, Judy, says that she forgives the police officer who killed her son. That forgiveness, she says, comes from God, from her faith. Her faith and her family's faith is something I saw from myself when I was honored to be invited in to their home this afternoon. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: I'm going to trust in the Lord till I die. I am going to trust in the Lord. I'm going to trust in the Lord. I'm going to trust in the Lord till I die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[22:00:03] COOPER: Amazing grace in that household this afternoon.
That does it for us from South Carolina. We'll see you again 11 p.m. Eastern for another edition of 360. CNN TONIGHT starts now.
